1. Field of the Invention
The present invention includes the first to forth inventions. The first invention relates to a plastic container, which is suitable for receiving contents in the form of powder, particle or liquid, and a method for manufacturing such a plastic container. The second invention relates to a container for receiving fluid such as calking agent, sealant, adhesive, mayonnaise or the like. The third invention relates to a fluid discharging apparatus for squeezing a fluid dispensing cartridge formed of a film into a tubular shape from its one end to discharge fluid such as adhesive received in its inside from an opening end provided at the other end of the cartridge, and to an installation apparatus, which is to be used in combination with the above-mentioned fluid discharging apparatus. The fourth invention relates to a fluid discharging apparatus for squeezing a fluid dispensing cartridge formed of a flexible film to discharge fluid such as adhesive, calking agent or the like, which is received in the cartridge.
2. Description of the Related Art
With respect to the first invention, a container for receiving a solid such as ground coffee beans, the moisture of which should be decreased, is required to be formed of material through which moisture cannot pass. As such a kind of container, there is generally used a glass container, a metallic can or a plastic container obtained by a blow molding method.
The glass container or the metallic can are excellent in moisture-proof property and gas isolating property, and has a good storing property. They however have problems of weight and volume of the container itself, which may hinder a disposal of the used container.
The plastic container obtained by the blow molding method can solve the problems of weight and volume of the glass container and the metallic can. It is however impossible to decrease the thickness of the plastic container under 0.7 mm by the conventional blow molding method. Accordingly, with respect to the plastic container obtained by the blow molding method, only a co-extruded article of a barrier base material such as ethylene vinyl alcohol (EVOH) copolymer resins (i.e., xe2x80x9cEVALxe2x80x9d (trademark)) and a synthetic resin material such as polyethylene, polypropylene or the like can provide appropriate moisture-proof property and gas isolating property.
In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the plastic container, the applicant developed a method for manufacturing the plastic container, which comprises the steps of putting an intermediate tubular body formed of a plastic laminate film on a mandrel serving as a core for a mold; putting upper and lower local molds on the mandrel in which the intermediate tubular body has already been put; injecting synthetic resin material in a molten state into the upper and lower local molds by the insert-injection process so as to form upper and lower formed members integrally with the outer surface of the intermediate tubular body.
The plastic container 1 obtained by the above-described method for manufacturing the plastic container comprises the intermediate tubular body 2, the upper formed member 3 integrally connected to the outer surface of the upper end portion of the intermediate tubular body 2, the lower formed member 4 integrally connected to the outer surface of the lower end portion of the intermediate tubular body 2 and a cover member 5 for closing the opening end of the upper formed member 3, as shown in FIG. 6.
The intermediate tubular body of the plastic container is formed of the plastic laminate film so that a multicolor printing can be applied on the outer surface of the intermediate tubular body. However, the upper and lower formed members formed on the outer surface of the intermediate tubular body decrease the effective area on which the printing is to be applied.
When the above-described method for manufacturing the plastic container is carried out under the conditions that the lower formed member is provided with a bottom and the lower edge of the intermediate tubular body comes into contact with such a lower formed member, wrinkles may occur at the end of the intermediate tubular body or the end thereof may be turned up due to the injection pressure of the synthetic resin material in the molten state during the insert injection forming, thus leading to substandard articles.
With respect to the second invention, the container for receiving fluid such as calking agent, sealant, adhesive, mayonnaise or the like generally comprises a main body formed into a tubular shape having opposite opening ends and two bottom members (i.e., closing devices) for closing the opposite opening ends of the main body, respectively. The container can receive the fluid such as adhesive in its inside. The main body is formed of a laminate comprising a plurality of films in order to ensure strength and to prevent surely an air ventilation between the outside and inside of the main body. Each of the bottom members is formed into a circular shape having sufficient rigidity. A hole is formed in the central portion of any one of the bottom members. The hole is closed by a sealing film. The bottom members are fixed to the opposite opening ends of the main body, thus closing the opposite opening ends thereof and ensuring a shape maintenance property of the whole container.
When the fluid, for example adhesive, received in the container, is used, the sealing film for closing the hole is broken and a nozzle is connected to the hole. The container is then inserted into a cylinder of a fluid discharging apparatus such as a discharging gun. When a pressing body, which is slidable in the cylinder, presses the other bottom member of the container, the main body is squeezed so that its portion near the pressing body deforms into a bellows-shape. Consequently, the adhesive received in the container is discharged through the hole and the nozzle.
The press of the container by means of the pressing body causes increase in internal pressure of the main body, leading to expansion of the main body. As a result, the laminate forming the main body is strongly pressed against the inner surface of the cylinder so that a portion of the laminate may stick to the inner surface of the cylinder. A further advance of the pressing body in such a condition may cause the stuck portion of the laminate to be caught between the inner surface of the cylinder and the outer surface of the pressing body. If once the portion of the laminate is caught between them, the length thereof increases in proportion to the moving distance of the pressing body. When the length of the caught portion of the laminate exceeds the prescribed value, the pressing body cannot advance, thus making it impossible to discharge the adhesive from the container.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. S56-51,265 discloses a method for preventing the occurrence of the above-mentioned catching problem of the laminate. The method comprises the steps of inserting a container into a tubular body, which is formed of a sheet-shaped film, and inserting both of the container and the tubular body into a cylinder. The tubular body placing between the inner surface of the cylinder and the outer surface of the container prevents the laminate from being caught between them.
According to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. S56-51,265, it is necessary to put the tubular member outside the container whenever a new container for fluid is used, thus causing troublesome problems. After the fluid received in the container is used up, the tubular member is also subjected to disposal as waste, leading to an increased amount of wastes.
With respect to the third invention, the fluid discharging apparatus comprises a receiving tube having a pressing body, which is slidable in the inside of the receiving tube, a piston for urging the pressing body in the longitudinal direction of the receiving tube. When the piston presses a fluid-dispensing cartridge, which is put in the receiving tube, through the pressing body, the cartridge is squeezed from its end portion locating the pressing body side. Consequently, the fluid such as adhesive received in the cartridge is discharged through the opening end, which is opposite to the above-mentioned end portion.
The film for forming the cartridge has an extremely small thickness of from several ten xcexcm to several hundred xcexcm. As a result, in the conventional fluid discharging apparatus, there may occur a problem that a portion of the film is caught between the inner surface of the receiving tube and the outer surface of the pressing body during the movement of the piston. In view of such a problem, Japanese Utility Model Provisional Publication No. H6-77,855 discloses an apparatus in which ring-shaped projections are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the opposite ends of the pressing body so as to bring only these projections into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the receiving tube. According to such a structure, a contact surface pressure of the pressing body against the receiving tube can be increased, thus preventing the film from being caught between the receiving tube and the pressing body.
According to the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Provisional Publication No. H6-77,855, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of catching problem of the film for a short period of time. However, it cannot provide such an effect for a long period of time.
More specifically, the projections of the pressing body move so as to be pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the receiving tube and come into contact with it, with the result that they wear away for a short period of time. In general, the pressing body is often formed of resin in view of making it light and saving the production costs. In such a case, the projections of the pressing body easily wear away rapidly. The wear of the projections decreases their external diameter accordingly, thus reducing the contact surface pressure of the projections against the receiving tube. As a result, there may cause the occurrence of the catching problem of the film. In the conventional apparatus, such a catching problem of the film may occur due to the wear of the pressing body. It is therefore impossible to prevent the occurrence of such a problem for a long period of time.
With respect to the fourth invention, the fluid discharging apparatus includes a fluid-discharging gun. The fluid discharging gun comprises a main body, a piston, which is reciprocally movable on the main body, and a cylinder having a pressing body, which is slidable in the inside of the cylinder. The main body has a supporting member to which the cylinder is detachably put. The cylinder is put on the supporting member so that the longitudinal axis of the cylinder coincides with the moving direction of the piston. The piston advances to come into the cylinder, thus moving the pressing body.
When the fluid-discharging gun having the above-described structure is used, the cartridge is inserted into the cylinder and the cylinder is put on the supporting member. The advance of the piston causes the movement of the pressing body. Consequently, the cartridge is squeezed to discharge the fluid such as adhesive from its front end in this manner. When the fluid received in the cartridge is used up, the piston is moved back to retreat from the cylinder. The cylinder is then detached from the supporting member. Then, the used cartridge placing on the front-end portion of the supporting member is removed so as to be subjected to disposal. The load of a new cartridge into the fluid discharging gun makes it possible to use again the gun.
The conventional fluid-discharging gun in which the cylinder is detachable from the main body has a problem that the exchange operation of the cartridge requires much labor.
More specifically, when a new cartridge is used, the cylinder is held with one hand and the new cartridge is held with the other hand. The cartridge is inserted into the cylinder. One of these hands can accordingly be unoccupied, with which the main body of the fluid discharging gun is held. Then, the cylinder is put on the supporting member of the gun. With respect to a soft-type cartridge, which is used up, the main body of the gun is held with one hand and the cylinder is detached from the supporting member by the other hand. Then, the cylinder is placed in the vicinity of an operator. Accordingly, the other hand becomes unoccupied and the used soft-type cartridge is removed from the main body of the gun by the other hand. In the conventional fluid-discharging gun, the operation for the main body of the gun and the operation for the cylinder cannot be carried out simultaneously in this manner. The passing operation of the main body of the gun, the cylinder or the cartridge from one hand to the other is required for exchange of the cartridge. In addition, the cartridge generally has a circular cross section. When the cartridge is placed in the vicinity of the operator after its removal from the main body of the gun, it may roll.
The first invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems. An object of the first invention is to provide a plastic container, in which a larger effective area on which the printing is to be applied, in comparison with the conventional plastic container, can be provided on a tubular body, and it is possible to prevent wrinkles from occurring at the end of the tubular body and to prevent the end thereof from being turned up during the insert injection forming, as well as a method for manufacturing the above-mentioned container.
In order to attain the aforementioned object, the plastic container of the first invention comprises a main body formed of a plastic laminate film into a tubular shape; a large-diameter-formed member joined to an outer surface of an end of said main body by an insert-injection process; and a small-diameter-formed member jointed to an inner surface of another end of said main body by the insert-injection process. Arranging the small-diameter-formed member inside the main body permits to provide a larger effective area of the main body, on which the printing is to be applied, in comparison with the conventional plastic container.
The first invention includes the other type of the plastic container, which comprises a main body formed of a plastic laminate film into a tubular shape; a large-diameter-formed member joined to an inner surface of an end of said main body by an insert-injection process; and a small-diameter-formed member jointed to an inner surface of another end of said main body by the insert-injection process. Arranging both of the large-diameter-member and the small-diameter-formed member inside the main body permits to provide a far larger effective area of the main body, on which the printing is to be applied, in comparison with the conventional plastic container.
The first invention also includes a method for manufacturing a plastic container, which comprises the steps of: preparing a mold, which has a first cavity for forming a large-diameter-formed member and a second cavity for forming a small-diameter-formed member, said second cavity has an outside diameter, which is smaller than an inside diameter of said first cavity; forming a tubular body of a plastic laminate film; putting said tubular body on an outer surface of a mandrel serving as a core for said mold; placing said mandrel on which said tubular body has been put, in said mold so that an end of said tubular body locates inside said first cavity and another end thereof locates outside said second cavity; and injecting synthetic resin material in a molten state into said first and second cavities of said mold by an insert-injection process so as to form a large-diameter-formed member integrally with an outer surface of the end of said tubular body and form a small-diameter-formed member integrally with an inner surface of the other end of said tubular body. According to such a method, it is possible to pull easily the mandrel, which has been placed in the mold, from the mold, without being hindered by the formed members.
The first invention also includes the other method for manufacturing a plastic container, which comprises the steps of: preparing a mold, which has a first cavity for forming a large-diameter-formed member and a second cavity for forming a small-diameter-formed member, said second cavity has an outside diameter, which is smaller than an inside diameter of said first cavity; forming a tubular body of a plastic laminate film; putting said tubular body on an outer surface of a mandrel serving as a core for said mold; placing said mandrel on which said tubular body has been put, in said mold so that an end of said tubular body locates outside said first cavity and another end thereof locates outside said second cavity; and injecting synthetic resin material in a molten state into said first and second cavities of said mold by an insert-injection process so as to form a large-diameter-formed member integrally with an inner surface of the end of said tubular body and form a small-diameter-formed member integrally with an inner surface of the other end of said tubular body. According to such a method, it is possible to pull easily the mandrel, which has been placed in the mold, from the mold, without being hindered by the formed members.
An object of the second invention is to provide a container for fluid, which can solve the above-mentioned problems.
In order to attain the aforementioned object, the container for fluid of the second invention comprises: a main body formed of a laminate into a tubular shape having opposite opening ends, in which fluid can be received, said laminate comprising a plurality of flexible films; and a pair of closing devices, which close the opposite opening ends of said main body, respectively, which is characterized in that: adjacent two films of said plurality of flexible films are laminated so that at least one pair of opposing portions of said adjacent two films can independently behave as the flexible film.
In the second invention, there may preferably be adopted a structure that said adjacent two films are joined with each other by means of at least one joined portion and portions of said adjacent two films other than said at least one joined portion can independently behave as the flexible film.
The above-mentioned at least one joined portion is preferably formed into at least one circular-shaped joined portion, which circumferentially extends on said main body in a shape of circle.
The above-mentioned circular-shaped joined portion may locate in the end portion of said main body, in each of the opposite end portions thereof, or in the middle portion thereof in its longitudinal direction.
At least one longitudinal joined portion, which extends from the one end of said main body to the other end thereof, may further be formed as said at least one joined portion.
The above-mentioned at least one joined portion may preferably be formed by joining said adjacent two films by means of adhesive.
The above-mentioned adjacent two films preferably locate in the outermost position of said main body.
The above-mentioned main body may be formed by placing one edge portion of said laminate on another edge portion thereof, and joining an innermost film of the one edge portion of said laminate with an outermost film of the other edge portion thereof.
There may preferably be adopted a structure that the closing device for closing the one opening end of said main body comprises a front-bottom member with rigidity, which is formed into a circular shape having substantially the same diameter as that of the one opening end of said main body and has a hole formed in a central portion of said front-bottom member, and a sealing film for closing said hole; the closing device for closing the other opening end of said main body comprises a rear-bottom member with rigidity, which is formed into a circular shape having substantially the same diameter as that of the other opening end of said main body; and said one opening end of said main body is joined to a periphery of said front-bottom member and said other opening end thereof is joined to a periphery of said rear-bottom member.
An object of the third invention is to provide a fluid discharging apparatus, which can solve the above-mentioned problems.
In order to attain the aforementioned object, the fluid discharging apparatus of the third invention comprises: a receiving tube having a pressing body, which is slidable in an inside of said receiving tube; and a piston for urging said pressing body to move same, a fluid dispensing cartridge, which comprises a film and is to be inserted into said receiving tube, being capable of being squeezed by pressing said fluid dispensing cartridge through said pressing body by means of said piston, so as to discharge fluid from said fluid dispensing cartridge; which apparatus is characterized in that: said pressing body comprises a tubular member, which is slidable on an inner peripheral surface of said receiving tube, and a plate member formed on an inner peripheral surface of said tubular member; and a central portion of said plate member is to be pushed by means of said piston so that said plate member elastically deforms into a curved shape.
In the apparatus of the third invention, a peripheral portion of said plate member is preferably also pressed by said piston when force applied to said plate member by said piston exceeds a prescribed value.
In the apparatus of the third invention, said piston preferably comprises a central pressing portion for pressing said central portion of said plate member and a peripheral pressing portion for pressing a peripheral portion of said plate member, said peripheral pressing portion being separately formed from said central pressing portion.
The third invention also includes an installation apparatus for a fluid dispensing cartridge, which can detachably fitted to a fluid discharging apparatus having a piston and comprises: a receiving tube being capable of receiving in its inside the fluid dispensing cartridge comprising a film; and a pressing body being slidable in the inside of said receiving tube; movement of said pressing body by means of said piston of said fluid discharging apparatus causing said fluid dispensing cartridge to be squeezed; which apparatus is characterized in that: said pressing body comprises a tubular member, which is slidable on an inner peripheral surface of said receiving tube, and a plate member formed on an inner peripheral surface of said tubular member; and said plate member has a projection, which is formed on a central portion of at least one of opposite surfaces of said plate member, said piston being capable of coming into contact with said projection and pushing same so that said plate member elastically deforms into a curved shape.
In the above-mentioned installation apparatus of the third invention, said projection is preferably formed on the central portion of each of the opposite surfaces of said plate member.
In the above-mentioned installation apparatus of the third invention, said projection and a peripheral portion of said plate member are preferably pressed by said piston when force applied to said plate member by said piston exceeds a prescribed value.
An object of the fourth invention is to provide a fluid discharging apparatus, which can solve the above-mentioned problems.
In order to attain the aforementioned object, the fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention comprises: a main body; a piston, which is reciprocally movable on said main body; and a cylinder having a pressing body, which is slidable in an inside of said cylinder, said piston being capable of coming into said cylinder to move said pressing body so that a fluid dispensing cartridge, which is to be inserted into said cylinder, can be squeezed to discharge fluid from said dispensing cartridge; which apparatus is characterized in that: said cylinder is movable relative to said main body in a reciprocal moving direction of said piston and rotatable around a rotational axis, which is perpendicular to the reciprocal moving direction of said piston.
In the above-mentioned fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention, said rotational axis preferably locates in an central portion of said cylinder in its longitudinal direction. There may preferably be adopted a structure that said main body has a pair of supporting arms, which extend in a reciprocal moving direction of said piston; and said cylinder is positioned between said pair of supporting arms, said cylinder being supported at its opposite side portions on said pair of supporting arms so as to be movable in a longitudinal direction thereof and rotatable around the rotational axis, which is perpendicular to said pair of supporting arms.
In the above-mentioned fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention, there may be adopted a structure that a nozzle supporting device is provided at front ends of said pair of supporting arms, said nozzle supporting device being supported on said pair of supporting arms so as to be swingable around an axis, which is perpendicular to said pair of supporting arms; and a nozzle, which is to be connected to a front end of said fluid dispensing cartridge so as to discharge the fluid therefrom, is mounted on said nozzle supporting device.
In the above-mentioned fluid discharging apparatus of the fourth invention, there may be adopted a structure that said nozzle supporting device is slidable within a prescribed region in the longitudinal direction of said pair of supporting arms, a slide of said nozzle supporting device toward the front ends of said pair of supporting arms preventing said nozzle supporting device from swinging and the slide thereof toward a rear ends of said pair of supporting arms permitting said nozzle supporting device to swing.